MSF operations in Kivus on hold due to insecurity

The health NGO Medecins sans frontieres (MSF) on Wednesday stated that it was suspending some of its activities outside the towns of Goma and Bukavu as a result of two severe security incidents on 9 July. The decision means that the provision of basic healthcare to internally-displaced people (IDPs), the building of a nutrition centre and the start of a nutritional programme have been put on hold, an MSF press release stated. In one incident, a health worker from the International Medical Corps was killed and six people were injured when their vehicle was attacked on the road between Kiliba and Uvira. In the other, two small IDP camps - together hosting about 5,000 people - were attacked west of Sake, near Goma. At least 25 people were killed, while dozens of huts were burned down and looted, as well as seven houses and two pharmacies in Sake itself, MSF stated. Such attacks, which are quite frequent in the Kivus, “are principally on civilians, but international NGOs are targeted as well,” it said. The suspension of some MSF activities is set to continue until a clearer picture of what happened in the two incidents emerges. “In the meantime, the fate of the IDPs [near Sake] remains unclear since they are either not willing or able to return to the camps,” MSF added.